Modest Midget, CRYSIS

Modest Midget’s “CRYSIS” is an impossible album to pin down. Ranging from sweet acoustic pieces to fluid progressive rock jams “CRYSIS” brings together disparate genres into a coherent and highly enjoyable whole. A sense of play is prominently displayed throughout the album. Elements of it recall the best of 70s progressive rock from the guitar riffs to the synthesizers. Such a degree of flexibility can be heard in every aspect from the driving rhythm to the flexibility of the guitar solos.

“The Grand Gate Opening” opens the album up with an ambient interlude. Following this is the funhouse oriented “A Centurion’s Itchy Belly” which includes a plethora of guitar riffs constantly reflecting off of each other. One of the highlights of the album “A Centurion’s Itchy Belly” is an infinitely enjoyable endlessly clever piece. For “Rocky Valleys of Dawn” Modest Midget burns through the song with a boundless amount of energy. Things cool down on the mellow jazz-rock fusion of “Periscope Down” letting Modest Midget show off their more restrained side. Upon finishing this piece up they move into the nervous, fast tempos of “Pretty Woman” and the even more skewed weirdness of “Flight of the Cockroach”. Towards the end of the album Modest Midget spreads out with “Secret Lies” sounding akin to a long-lost “California” era Mr. Bungle piece. “Birth” ends the album off on a high note.